Eliane stared at herself in the mirror with nervous anticipation. The chamberlain would be here soon to take her to the main hall for another day of stressful, incomprehensible work. She wished she could savor the few more moments of peace she was accorded as she got ready after waking. But she just couldn’t relax. She was still in her thin nightgown. Hair messy. The pale morning of dawn making the room look peaceful. She took a deep breath and got up, strolled to the wardrobe and picked her outfit for the day. She slipped it on, slowly and carefully. Appearances mattered most, as her mother had taught her.

The chamberlain knocked twice, then entered at the threshold with a sealed blue packet on a silver tray. “My lady, the main hall is prepared, but this was placed beneath the council door before dawn.”

She ran a thumb along the packet’s sealed edge, testing it carefully.

She took the blue packet from the tray, broke its seal and unfolded the letter inside. Her mother’s handwriting filled the page.

She read the letter twice, her hands shaking. Mother. Alive. She folded it and turned to the chamberlain.

The chamberlain waited. She looked up at him, her voice steady now. “Who else has seen this?” she asked, folding the paper again.

He bowed his head. “Only you, my lady, and the one who sealed it.” She believed him.